Sheet feeding mechanism



March 8, 1938. I R. REINARTZ 2,110,175

SHEET FEEbING MECHANISM F iled Jan. 10, 1936 s she ts-sheet 1 6 I I I Z.6 fmge'rzfoi' jioberz'f Beam/Z52,

R. REINARTZ .SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM March 8, 1938.

3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 1Q, 1936 Patented Mar. 8, 1938 UNITED STATESPATENT oincr SHEET FEEDING MECHANISM of Germany Application January 10,1936, Serial No. 58,464 In Germany January 15, 1935 13 Claims. (Cl.271-27) This invention relates to improvements in sheet separating andforwarding mechanism more particularly suitable for use in that class ofsheet feeding apparati which are intended for handling sheets insuperimposed relation, it being understood, however, that the inventionmay be applied with equal advantages to sheet feeding apparati wheresheets are separated and forwarded individually in successive order.

I have found that in sheet feeding mechanisms where the sheets to beconveyed are separated from a stack by means which engage the sheetsadjacent the lateral edges and then, after having advanced a sheet toforwarding means and released it, moves around the lateral edges of suchsheet and beneath it in order to engage and separate the next followingsheet, it is difiicult to maintain a gap between a separatedsheet andthe top sheet of the stack adequate to permit the separating means toenter without obstruction beneath such separated sheet. Therefore it isone of the primary objects of my invention to provide simple andeffective means whereby this can be accomplished effectively.

Another object of the invention resides in the provision of meanswhereby a sheet, after having beenforwarded and released by the sheetseparating means, will be raised above the latter and held in suchposition until .the separating means has entered the gap beneath it.

A further object is to provide means whereby the top sheet of a stackwill be held down while the sheet separating means enters the gapbetween a previously separated sheet and said top sheet.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent from the followingdescription and appended claims.

A preferred form of mechanism embodying the principle of my invention isillustrated in the accompanying drawings; in which:

Figure 1 shows the arrangement of the cooperating parts in frontelevation;

Figure 2 is a plan view of the parts illustrated in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a side elevation of the same parts;

Figures 4 to 8 inclusive are diagrammatic views illustrating thesuccessive steps whereby the purpose of my invention may beaccomplished;

Figure 9 shows the preferred curvilinear path imparted to one of themembers embodied in the mechanism, disclosed;

Figures 10 to 14 inclusive are plan views in which the sheet engaged bythe suction means has been omitted and show merely the relativepositions of the suction nozzle or nozzles and associated parts atdifferent points of the cycle of operation, the positions correspondingrespectively with those represented in Figures 4 to 8;

Figure 15 illustrates diagrammatically a modified form of operation ofthe separating means and cooperating member whereby a sheet is raisedabove said means;

Figure 16 is a partial section in front elevation of the mechanismwhereby motion is imparted to the various cooperating elements of thisdevice; while Figure 17 represents a side elevation of the mechanismillustrated in Figure 16.

Referring to Figures 1 to 3, the suction nozzle I, one of which may bearranged adjacent each one of the front corners of a stack of sheets, aswill be readily understood, is shown ina position ready to separate thetop sheet from the stack 2. Said nozzle is mounted on an arm 3 securedto a shaft 4 by means of which it is given the required movements. Anysuitable mechanism, such as is disclosed for example in my co-pendingapplication for U. S. Letters Patent Serial No. 601,380, filed March 26,1932, may be provided for pivoting said shaft, moving it slowly forwardhorizontally and then swinging it upwardly in order to present a sheetto the forwarding means and, after releasing said sheet, swing aroundits lat eral edge and down onto the next sheet to be separated.According to this form of construction, I provide a holder on which ismounted a rod 6 of any suitable form such as shown in Figures 1 to 3.

The operation of this mechanism is as follows: When the suction nozzle lis about to engage the top sheet of the stack 2 as shown in Figures 4and 10, the free end of the rod 6 is located adjacent the front edge ofthe stack 2 and in its lowermost position.

Preferably I also provide a hold-down finger 'l to cooperate with saidrod in order to assure the required gap beneath a previously separatedsheet and the top sheet of said stack. In Figure 4 this finger is shownin its lowermost position and immediately in front of the stack.

When, as is illustrated in Figures 5 and 11, the nozzle I together withthe sheet 8 engaged thereby has advanced towards a sheet forwardingroller 9 or the like, the rod 6 as well as the finger 1 willsimultaneously have reached a slightly raised position as shown. Afterthe nozzle I has transferred the sheet 8 to said forwarding means, andas soon as said nozzle has moved sidewise beyond the lateral edge of thestack 2, the upward moveupon the nozzle together with the rodIi and saidFigures 7 and 13, the suction nozzle I again begins to move inwardly andtowards the stack to a position beneath the sheet 8, the rod 6 has beenraised to an extent that the sheet 8 will be supported above said nozzlein order to clear the latter so that it may readily enter beneath saidsheet and move down into engagement with the next following sheet.Simultaneously the topv sheet which is to be separated next will be helddown momentarily by'said finger I, thereby assuring the required spacefor the suction nozzle to enter between the sheet 8 and said top sheet.

During the downward movement of the nozzle I, the rod I is again loweredso that it will pass said nozzle to its right, as viewed in Figures 8and 14, and then beneath it to the left. Simultaneously the finger I israised slightly, moved away from the stack and then lowered, wherememberI will again have reached the position shown in Figure 4. r

In order to more clearly indicate the curvilinear path followed by therod 6 during its movement described with referenceto Figures 4 to 8,, I-have shown in Figure 9 merely the contour of said path with respect tothe stack 2 and the forwarding roller 9.

' It willbe understood, however, that instead of moving to the rightaround the nozzle I from its position shown in Figure 7., the rod 6, bysuitably changing its configuration and manner of mounting as will bedescribed herein with reference to Figure 15, may be returned from abovesaid nozzle to its original position shown in Figure 4 in a path to theleft around said nozzle. The starting position of the rod 6 as shown inFigure 4 is preferred because in such position, namely'in front of theleading edge of the stack, the rod 6 does not interfere with the sheetto be raised by the nozzle I, and because the sheet by means of thenozzleI is brought into a position above said rod so that the latterduring its upward movement is certain to engage the sheet from beneath.It is possible also to impart to the rod 6 a lateral movement inaddition to its curvilinear movement, similar to the movement impartedtothe suction nozzle'jl, so

that it will reach its position beneath thesheet from the side, similarto'the nozzle itself. Due to the smaller dimensions of said rod ascompared with said nozzle, such an arrangement is readilypossible.

The finger I merely serves to improve the func-' tion of the mechanismdescribed and does not form an essential part of my invention.

As indicated hereinabove, the mechanism whereby the reciprocatingmovements are imparted to the suction nozzles I may be of a constructionsimilar to that disclosed in said 'copending application for U. S.LettersPat'entand in connection with which I make reference to Figures16 and 17. a

, It will be seen that in Figure 16 certain parts, such as the shaft 2|,rack 29 and the shaft 3I, are shown swung away from their properoperative positions. This showing is "intentional in order to moreclearly illustrate these and. their associated parts.

According to this preferred form of construction, a shaft 2| issupported by bearings |2I and I22. On said shaft 2| is secured a rockarm 28 which is provided with two bores which extend parallel to theshaft 2|. In one of said bores is arranged a rack 29 which by means ofthe gear segment 21 is moved to and fro within said bore, but does notrotate. Said rack 29 is connected with a shaft 3|, see Figure 17, whichis arranged and may he slid within the 0 her bore by means of a bracket30, in such a'ma ner that the shaft 3! will follow the longitudinalmovement of the rack 29, but is able to simultaneously turn about itsown axis. On the inner end of the shaft 3I is mounted the suction nozzleI which, as will be seen from the arrangement described, will make acombined movement, namely from right to left as viewed in Figure 16,turning upwards by pivot ing about the axis of shaft 3|, and swingingfrom left to right by pivoting about the axis of shaft 2|, see Figure17.

The device just described derives its motion from the main shaft I08,this being accomplished in the following manner. By means of alongitudinal groove I23, Figure 16, and a key fastened to a flanged hubII, the shaft I 00 drives said hub which latter can be adjustedlongitudinally of said shaft. The flange on hub I I is bolted onto aflange I24so that the angle of transmission may be suitably changed. Theflange" I24 and a'pinion I2 are secured to a collar I3, said piniondriving another pinion I5 which is'carried by a shaft I6 which latterhas its:bearings in bushings I1,

IIa. Three cams I8, I9, are keyed to the shaft produced by the cam I8. Agear segment 33 is,

loosely mounted on shaft 2|, whichsegment is formed with an arm carryinga roller 22 which rides over the cam I9. Said roller 22 is kept incontact with the cam I9 by means of a spring 24.

The segment 33 meshes with another segment 35 within the bore of whichthe shaft 3| is shifted lengthwise while it follows the rotary motion ofthe segment 35. This maybe accomplished by any suitable means such as akey-way'and key connection indicated in Figures 16 and 17. g

The cam I8 imparts. a rocking motion to the bell-crank lever 23, seeFigure 17, which is loosely mounted on shaft 2|. On one arm of thebellcrank lever 23 is a rollerwhich is kept in contact with cam I8 bymeans of a'spring, the arrangement being similar to that described abovein connection with cam I9 and its associated parts. The bell-crank lever23 is rigidly secured, to a bevel pinion 25, see Figures 16 and 17,which meshes with another bevel pinion 26 mounted on a pivot I21 whichis carried by the shaft 2| so that it will rock together with the arm28. .The

bevel pinion 26 moves with the segment 21 which said rod 6 backward andforward and also up and down, as viewed in Figure 17. Said levers arepivotally mounted at I46.

It will be seen that lever I44 which carries the roller I42 is providedwith an arm I47, the outer end of which is pivotally secured at I5I tothe rod 6. Therefore, as the roller I42 follows the cam I40, the rod 6will be reciprocated forward and backward. The arm I48 of the bell-cranklever' I45 is pivoted to a link I49 and the outer end of the latter isin turn pivoted to a lever I50 secured at I5I to said rod 6. By theroller I43 following the surface of the cam II, the arm I48 will berocked up and down with the result that in addition to its forward andbackward movement, the rod will be given an up and down movement, i. e.said rod will be moved in a vertical curvilinear path with relation tothe suction nozzle 6, and cooperating with the latter in order to raisea sheet to thereby provide a space between a separated sheet and the topof the pile for. said suction nozzle to enter and engage and separatethe next sheet.

According to this arrangement; the path of the rod 6 will be in aclockwise direction-asindicated in Figure 9. f

In Figure 15 I have indicated a modified manner of operation of the rod6 whereby sheets after having been separated are raised and held abovethe separating member I in order that the latter may enter into thespace provided for engaging and separating the next sheet on the pile 2.

According to this arrangement I have provided a cam I28 mounted on acontinually rotating shaft I29. A roller I30-provided at the outer endof the bell-crank lever I3I pivotedat I32 rides over the surface of thecam I28. The other arm of the bell-crank lever I3I is pivoted to a linkI33, the outer end of which link in turn is pivoted to the arm I34 of asecond bell-crank lever I35 pivotally mounted at I36. According to thismodification, the rod 6 is secured to the outer end of the arm I35 sothat during the rotation of the cam M8, the lever I35 will move up anddown as indicated by the arrow so that in order to raise a sheet abovethe suction separator I, the free end of the rod 6 will be movedbackwardly i. e. to the right as viewed in Figure 15 and thereuponreturned to its original position by moving to the left in front of saidsuction separator.

It will be readily understood that while I have illustrated somepreferred forms of carrying my invention into effect, many modificationsof the parts involved and arrangement thereof may be adopted with equalsuccess and without departing from the principle of the invention,therefore I intend to cover any such modifications that will come withinthe scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a sheet support, sheetforwarding means, sheet separating means for removing sheets from saidsupport and transferring them to said forwarding means, and a membermoving in a vertical curvilinear path andoperatively associated withsaid separating means to raise a sheet above the latter, after theleading edge of said sheet has been engaged by said forwarding means.

2. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a sheet support, sheetforwarding means, sheet separating means, movable around the lateraledge of a sheet engaged by said forwarding means to remove an underlyingsheet from said support and transfer it to said forwarding means, and. a

member moving in a curvilinear path and operatively associated with saidseparating means to raise a sheet above the latter after the leadingedge of said sheet has been engaged by said forwarding means.

3. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combina tion of a sheet support,sheet forwarding means, sheet separating means for removing sheets fromsaid support and transferring them to said forwarding means, and amember moving upwardly from beneath said separating means to raise asheet above the latter, after said forwarding means has engaged theleading edge of said sheet, and thereupon move dgwnwardly and past saidseparating means.

4. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a sheet support, sheetforwarding means,

sheet separating means for moving sheets from warding means, to therebyprovide a space beneath said sheet for said separating means to enterand engage the next following sheet.

5. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a sheet support, sheetforwarding means, sheet separating means arranged to move around thelateral edge of a sheet to be forwarded and to convey sheets from saidsupport and transfer them to said sheet forwarding means, and a memberarranged to move in a closed curvilinear path and operatively associatedwith said sheet separating means to raise a sheet above the latter meansafter the leading edge of said sheet has been engaged by said forwardingmeans to thereby provide a space beneath said sheet for said separatingmeans to enter and engage the next following sheet.

6. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a sheet support, sheetforwarding means, sheet separating means for conveying sheets from saidsupport and transferring .them to said forwarding means, a member movingin a curvilinear path and operatively associated with said separatingmeans to raise asheet above the latter after the leading edge of saidsheet has been engaged by said forwarding means, and means cooperatingwith said member for holding down the top sheet on said support formaintaining a space above the latter while the preceding sheet is beingforwarded.

7. In sheet feeding mechanism, the cofnbination of a sheet support,sheet forwarding means, sheet separating means for conveying sheets fromsaid support and transferring them-to said forwarding means, a movablemember operatively associated with said separating means, means formoving said member above said separating means after the leading edge ofa sheet has been engaged by said forwarding means, for the purpose ofraising and holding said sheet above said separating means and therebymaintaining a space between the said sheet and the top sheet on saidsupport while the former sheet is being advanced by said forwardingmeans.

8. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a sheet support, sheetforwarding means, sheet separating means for removing sheets from saidsupport and transferring them to said forwarding means, and asubstantially horizontal rod moving in a vertical curvilinear path forthe purpose of raising a sheet above said separating 7 Mon of a sheetsupport, sheet forwarding means,

means 'and supporting it after the latter has transfer ed the leadingedge of a sheet to said for warding eans.

9. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combinasheet' separating means forconveying sheets from said support and transferring them to saidforwarding means, and a substantially horizontal 'rod moving in avertical curvilinear path and around said separating meansfor thepurposeof raising a sheet above said separating means, and

thereupon returning to its starting position. 10. In sheet feedingmechanism, the combination of a sheet support, sheet forwarding means,

reciprocating sheet separating means for convey-,

ing sheets from saidsupport and transferring them to said forwardingmeans, a movablemember operatively associated with said separatingmeans, and means for moving said member above said separating meansafter the leadingedge of asheet'hasbeen engaged by said forwardingmeans, for the purpose of raisinga sheet above said separating means andsupporting it during the return strokeof the latter in order to providea space beneath said sheet to accommodate said separating means forengaging a successive sheet.

tion of a sheet support; sheet forwarding means, I sheet separatingmeans arranged adjacent the,

11. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combinafront corners of a pile ofsheets for conveying sheets from said support and transferring them i tosaid forwarding means, a member moving in a curvilinear path andoperatively associated with said separating means to raise a sheet abovethe latter after the leading edge of "said sheet has been engaged bysaid forwarding means, and" means cooperating with said member forholding down the top sheet on said support for maintaining a space abovethe latter while said separating means enter between'the top of saidpile and the sheet being forwarded.

12. In sheet feeding mechanism, the combination of a sheet support,sheet forwarding means, sheet separating. means for removing sheets fromsaid support and transferring them to said forwarding means, means formoving said separating means around the, lateral edges of a separatedsheet,and a member moving in a vertical curvilinear path and operativelyassociated with said separating means to raise a sheet above the latter,after the leading edge of said'sheet has been engaged by saidforwardingmeans and while said separating means move around the lateral edges of aseparated sheet to enter between the top of said pile and the sheetbeing forwarded.

13. In a sheet-feeding mechanism, the combination of asheet-pile-support, sheet-forwarding means, sheet-separating means,means to operate said sheet-separating means to cause it to re,-

move thesheets individually in succession from the top of the pile,transfer them in succession to said sheet-forwarding means and return toits initial sheet-removing position around the lateral edge'of thetransferred sheet, a sheet-raising-member, and means to move said memberto raise each sheet after its leading edge has been engaged by saidforwarding means to facilitate the-entrance ofsaid separating-meansbeneath the sheet as it completes its passage around the lateral edge ofthe sheet. 7 l

' ROBERT REINARTZ.

